Depending on your operating system the following instructions for Windows XP may vary.

Steps

1

Click on the start button

2

Go to the control panel

3

Once opened, double left-click on "Network Connections"

4

You should see an icon labeled as "Local Area Connection". Right-click on that icon, left-click on "Properties" (There may be more than one network connection, depending on how many network cards you have in your PC. "Local Area Connection" indicates a wired Ethernet port, whereas "Wireless Network Connection" is for various types of wireless network connections including WiFi.)

5

A window pops up, in the middle you will find a list of items, one of which is "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)". Left-click on it and then left-click on the Properties button.

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Tips

In the black window (Command Prompt) type "ipconfig" and then hit Enter.

You should receive an IP address appropriate to the device you are connected to.

Then type "ipconfig /renew" this should set your IP address to the proper IP address.

To make sure you are receiving a proper IP, go to start and left-click on "Run" and type in 'cmd', hit Enter.

If you are receiving an IP address that is not valid, type "ipconfig /release" then hit enter. This will set your IP address to 0.0.0.0

Warnings

If connecting through a Router or Firewall check the user manual for the appropriate IP address you should be receiving (typically it would begin with '192.168.'[NOTE: This address is denoted by the IEEE as a private network address])

If directly connected to your modem, you may need to check with you Internet Service Provider (ISP) to determine what the IP address should be.

If your computer is connected to the internet, use the DHCP server. For IP addresses on a private network, you probably don't have access to a DHCP server and should contact someone to set up your private network.